The present invention relates to a technique for remotely reading E-mail using an external telephone, and more particularly, to a technique for remotely reading E-mail using an external telephone in which a user can call an E-mail client of his or her personal computer (PC) using an external telephone and remotely read down-loaded E-mail by a periodic communication between the PC and an E-mail server.
So far, it is possible to communicate with a PC using an ordinary telephone only when someone is near the PC. Even when someone is near the PC, it is possible to communicate with the PC using the telephone only when a speech communication can be performed by the PC itself. Namely, in the case of the communication between the telephone and the PC, a communication can be performed only when a counterpart exists like in a communication between ordinary telephones. However, when the E-mail received from a counterpart is managed using a function of managing E-mail among the functions of the PC, the counterpart does not have to exist during the communication between the telephone and the PC.
The communication between the telephone and the PC has a problem in that it is impossible to confirm E-mail through an external telephone when the E-mail is received as a text file. However, even when the E-mail is received as a text file, it is possible to transmit speech-converted E-mail through a telephone line when there exist functions of down-loading E-mail and converting the E-mail of the down-loaded text file into a speech file.
It is because checking a speech-converted message is much easier than reading text mail stored in the PC during driving a car that a speech converting function is considered important in the case of the communication between the telephone and the PC.
Therefore, when E-mail is received as a text file when a PC does not have functions of down-loading E-mail, managing E-mail, and converting the text file into a speech, it is impossible to gain access to the received E-mail by an external telephone.
The following patents each disclose features in common with the present invention but do not teach or suggest an E-mail reading technology which implements a service system at the server side and adapts a power saving mode prior to communicating with the E-mail server and subsequent to the down-loading of the E-mail as in the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,877 to Dorsey et al., entitled Verbal Computer Terminal System, U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,798 to Cohen et al., entitled Communication System Having Unified Messaging, U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,707 to O""Malley et al., entitled Text-To Speech Converter Of A Facsimile Graphic Image, U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,636 to Irribarren, entitled Interface System And Method For Interconnecting A Voice Message System And An Interactive Voice Response System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,835 to Frohman et al., entitled Method of Delivering Paging Messages Using Voice Mail, U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,768 to Lemaire et al., entitled Portable Computer Device For Audible Professing Of Remotely Stored Messages, U.S. Pat. No. 5,475,738 to Penzias, entitled Interface Between Text And Voice Messaging Systems, U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,491 to Herreoro Garcia et al., entitled Integrated Voice-Mail Based Voice And Information Processing System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,137 to Rhee, entitled Multi-Media Messaging System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,740 to Irribarren et al., entitled System And Method For Integrating Voice, Facsimile And Electronic Mail Data Through A Personal Computer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,507 to Bobo II, entitled Message Storage And Delivery System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,668,854 to Minakami et al., entitled Distributed System For Call Processing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,901 to Meermans, entitled Automatic Voice/Text Translation Of Phone Mail Messages, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,742 to Hyde-Thomson, entitled Electronic Mail System Having Integrated Voice Messages.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a method of remotely reading E-mail down-loaded in a PC by an external telephone.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus for remotely reading E-mail downloaded in a PC using an external telephone.
To achieve the first objective, there is provided a method for remotely reading E-mail using an external telephone, comprising the steps of (a) periodically performing a communication between a personal computer (PC) and an E-mail server, checking whether there is new E-mail in the E-mail server, and down-loading the E-new mail to the PC, the PC being in a power saver mode prior to communicating with the E-mail server and subsequent to the down-loading of E-mail (b) checking whether or not the down-loaded E-mail is a text file and storing the E-mail if the E-mail is a speech file and converting the E-mail into a speech file and storing it if the E-mail is a text file, and (c) checking whether there is a newly received E-mail which is down-loaded to the PC in response to a phone call from the external telephone to an E-mail client of the PC, and (d) reading the E-mail and transmitting it through a MODEM when there is received E-mail in step (c).
Preferably, the method for reading E-mail using an external telephone further comprises the steps of (e) checking whether new E-mail has been received by performing a communication between the PC and the E-mail server and using the external telephone if there is no received E-mail in step (c), if there is received E-mail, instructing whether the new E-mail is to be down-loaded and transmitted, and (f) down-loading the new E-mail and then transmitting the down-loaded new E-mail through the MODEM when there are down-load transmit commands in step (e).
To achieve the second objective, there is provided an apparatus for remotely reading E-mail using an external telephone, comprising a down-loader for down-loading new E-mail, in which a PC periodically communicates with an E-mail server and checks whether new E-mail has arrived at the E-mail server, the PC being in a power saver mode prior to communicating with the E-mail server and subsequent to the down-loading of E-mail, a text to speech converter for checking whether the down-loaded E-mail is a text file, and storing a speech file if the E-mail is a speech file and conveting a text file into a speech file and storing the converted result if the E-mail is a text file, and a MODEM for transmitting newly down-loaded E-mail if any, in response to a phone call from an external telephone to an E-mail client.
Preferably, in the apparatus for reading E-mail using an external telephone, the down-loader down-loads and transmits new E-mail according to commands from an external telephone when it is determined that there is new E-mail as a result in which the PC communicates with the E-mail server and checks whether new E-mail has arrived at the E-mail server, if there is no down-loaded E-mail.